Today, the Washington Times ran a report that publicizes a threat known for some time to Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This is the threat posed by radical Islamic Jihadis from Europe who infiltrated into Iraq to fight with al-Qaeda forces there who are now beginning to return to their Euro-homelands. These combat experienced and battle-hardened terrorist veterans, estimated to be at least in the high hundreds, who not only possess violent extremist Islamic radicalization but European citizenship, will prove to be a major challenge to the security forces of Europe. There is surely no reason to believe these hardened Jihadi fighters will leave their violent ways behind in Iraq.

European intelligence and police agencies are not alone in being concerned about these returning terrorists. As European citizens, on the surface many of these Jihadi fighters would be eligible to enter the United States under the generous Visa Waiver Program that allows citizens of 27 countries, mostly Western and Northern European countries, to temporarily enter the US without a visa...solely on their passport...for up to 90 days as a visitor. It is therefore critically important these Euro-terrorists be as fully identified as possible and that information must be shared with the appropriate US intelligence and law enforcement authorities so, hopefully, they can be prevented from entering the US and intercepted and detained if they attempt such entry.

Beyond the obvious need to prevent the entry into the US of such people, if US authorities did indeed encounter and detain such a European Islamic terrorist, quite arguably such a person would fit the classification of an âenemy combatantâ from the US perspective. Assuming the intelligence and background information and evidence against such a person substantiated his having fought with the terror insurgency in Iraq against the US coalition, and that person was then captured attempting to enter the US, should he be considered and handled as a mere inadmissible alien or as an enemy combatant? With the anticipated influx into Europe of hundreds of these returning terrorists, most of whom holding European passports, US authorities may soon find themselves dealing with such issues.

Well that's troubling if it isn't just overstated hyperbole by security organizations to get larger budgets. Concievably most of these 'volunteers' didn't have clean slates or were identified before hand as possible security risks.

Today, the Washington Times ran a report that publicizes a threat known for some time to Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies. This is the threat posed by radical Islamic Jihadis from Europe who infiltrated into Iraq to fight with al-Qaeda forces there who are now beginning to return to their Euro-homelands. These combat experienced and battle-hardened terrorist veterans, estimated to be at least in the high hundreds, who not only possess violent extremist Islamic radicalization but European citizenship, will prove to be a major challenge to the security forces of Europe. There is surely no reason to believe these hardened Jihadi fighters will leave their violent ways behind in Iraq.

European intelligence and police agencies are not alone in being concerned about these returning terrorists. As European citizens, on the surface many of these Jihadi fighters would be eligible to enter the United States under the generous Visa Waiver Program that allows citizens of 27 countries, mostly Western and Northern European countries, to temporarily enter the US without a visa...solely on their passport...for up to 90 days as a visitor. It is therefore critically important these Euro-terrorists be as fully identified as possible and that information must be shared with the appropriate US intelligence and law enforcement authorities so, hopefully, they can be prevented from entering the US and intercepted and detained if they attempt such entry.

Beyond the obvious need to prevent the entry into the US of such people, if US authorities did indeed encounter and detain such a European Islamic terrorist, quite arguably such a person would fit the classification of an âenemy combatantâ from the US perspective. Assuming the intelligence and background information and evidence against such a person substantiated his having fought with the terror insurgency in Iraq against the US coalition, and that person was then captured attempting to enter the US, should he be considered and handled as a mere inadmissible alien or as an enemy combatant? With the anticipated influx into Europe of hundreds of these returning terrorists, most of whom holding European passports, US authorities may soon find themselves dealing with such issues.

Interesting line of thought. If we hadn't 'invaded' Iraq I suppose these people would be models of citizenship without a hostile thought in their minds?

It's a bit like saying that some people deserve to be the victims of crime.

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The possibility that a terrorist could get into the US without a visa for up to 90 days - because (s)he's an EU national or similar, is nothing new, is it? The scaremongering put forward by this blogger is that said individuals are now "combat experienced and battle-hardened terrorist veterans" from Iraq. No Iraq invasion = no battle-hardening (etc.) was my point.

Or look at it this way, do you think this kind of article would have appeared in the Washington Times prior to 2003?

I dare say that Cat Stevens can keep ruling out any plans for a US tour for the considerable future.

Awol, it is entirely plausible that they went for such a reason, much as volunteers from all over Europe joined the anti-fascist forces during the Spanish Civil War. I agree with however, in that it is my sense that the current crop pose a much greater risk to the communities back home.

This article, does promote my ire in that, once again, its a Spam "It's all about me"-type story as if the the London and Madrid bombings never happened. I know it's designed for an American audience but it does suggest, at least implicitly, that European intelligence and security isn't doing its bit, just because we're not caging our citizens on a Caribbean island or having Jordanian intelligence officers setting fire to their feet.